''For the Record'' is the debut studio album by American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

Torae, released on November 1, 2011 via his own imprint Internal Affairs Entertainment, in conjunction with Fat Beats Distribution. It was preceded by the collaborative project ''Double Barrel'' in 2009 with producer Marco Polo. The album was executive produced by Torae, along with Rich "Filthy Rich" Ahee and Amber Ravenel. The music production was handled by renowned beatsmiths

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop du ...

, Large Professor,

Diamond D Joseph Kirkland (born April 5, 1968), better known by his stage name Diamond D, is an American hip hop MC and record producer from The Bronx, New York City, and one of the founding members of the Diggin' in the Crates Crew, abbreviated as D.I.T. ...

, and Pete Rock, as well as

9th Wonder Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975),
better known as 9th Wonder, is a Illmind Ramon Ibanga, Jr. (born August 28, 1980), known professionally as Illmind (often stylized as !llmind), is an American record producer, songwriter, and educator. As of 2012, he lives in Brooklyn, New York. Illmind has co-written and produced hip ...

, and Marco Polo among others. The sole

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...

s are provided by Wes, Pav Bundy and MeLa Machinko. The album was mastered by Ricardo Gutierrez at Stadium Red in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. The album was supported by two singles – "That Raw" produced by Pete Rock, and "Do the Math" produced by Large Professor.

Critical reception

Upon its release, ''For the Record'' received generally favorable reviews from music critics. In his review for HipHopSite.Com, Nene Wallace Reed observed that "Three things help to make Torae the artist he is; his raw talent, his ear for production and his honesty. The combination of the three make the album a winner. ''For the Record'' is not only a strong introduction to Torae as an individual, it's out and out one of the best albums of 2011." Jeff Leon of KevinNottingham wrote, "Torae delivers a solid ode to Hip Hop and a declaration of who he is and where he wants to go. Not all the beats on the record work perfectly and the emcee still has room to grow, but with this one, Torae leaves an indelible mark and shows that he's well on his way to becoming a Hip Hop heavyweight." RapReviews founder Steve "Flash" Juon wrote, "There is nothing bad or whack about ''For the Record'', so it may just be that at only 48 minutes long I'm simply disappointed there wasn't more content. Then again it may be that Torae suffers from Brooklynite soundalike syndrome, because to some degree he comes across like a less charismatic Jay-Z or Saigon, and as dope as his lines are they are often lacking in forceful intent." Will Georgi wasn't hesitant to dub the album a classic. Writing for Okayplayer, he believed that "''For the Record'' is the sound of a sharp MC rhyming over some dope beats from some of the best producers in the scene. If that doesn't make it a classic record, I don't know what is." DJBooth reviewer Nathan S. wrote, "It'd be a mistake to stick the ol' 'underground' label on ''For the Record'' – you don't have to have a backpack full of

Krylon Sherwin-Williams Company is an American Cleveland, Ohio–based company in the paint and coating manufacturing industry. The company primarily engages in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of paints, coatings, floorcoverings, and related p ...

to enjoy it – but it's safe to say Torae's not aiming for crossover radio success. This is a hip-hop album for people who love hip-hop and who want to hear the music they love, not the music a radio programmer thinks they should love."

Track listing

Sample credits *"Shakedown" contains a sample of "Legend of the Ninja" as performed by Alfredo Chen Singers; *"Do The Math" contains a sample of "Capture (Militia, Pt. 3)" as performed by

Gang Starr Gang Starr was an American hip hop duo, consisting of Texas record producer DJ Premier and Massachusetts rapper Guru. For the entirety of their association, they were based out of Brooklyn, New York. Gang Starr was at its height from 1989 to 2 ...

, Big Shug and

Freddie Foxxx James Campbell (born March 27, 1969), better known by his stage names Freddie Foxxx and Bumpy Knuckles, is an American rapper and music producer from Long Island, New York. Biography Foxxx got his start rapping in the early 1980s. In 1986, he ...

; "Life As..." as *"For the Record" contains a sample of "Eclipse" as performed by Ahmad Jamal; " What's Happenin'" as performed by

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of ...

and Busta Rhymes; Redman's verse in LL Cool J's " 4, 3, 2, 1"; "Likwit" as performed by

Tha Alkaholiks Tha Alkaholiks, also known as Tha Liks, is an American hip hop trio from Los Angeles, California, United States. Since the early 1990s they have produced party music with a hardcore hip hop edge, powered by the beats of DJ and producer E-Swift ...

; *"Thank You" contains a sample of "Thank You Baby" as performed by Betty Wright.

Personnel

Credits for ''For the Record'' adapted from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

. * Rich "Filthy Rich" Ahee — engineer, executive producer, mixing, producer * Wesley "Wes" Brumfield — featured artist, vocals * Pav Bundy — featured artist * Torae "Torae" Carr — engineer, executive producer, primary artist, producer * Matt Conaway — publicity * Shawna Nichol Corso — vocals * Ejor Danill — artwork * DJ E Holla — vocals *

— engineer, mixing, producer * Patrick "9th Wonder" Douthit — engineer, producer, vocals * Eric "Eric G." Gabouer — producer * Ricardo Gutierrez — mastering * Fatin "Fatin" Horton — engineer, producer * Ramon "Illmind" Ibanga Jr. — mixing, producer * Calvin Jones — mixing * Eric "E. Jones" Jones — producer *

Khrysis Christopher Frederick Tyson (born September 7, 1981), better known as Khrysis, is an American hip hop producer and half of the duo The Away Team. Khrysis' productions consist of samples of records with intricate melodies and diverse drum bea ...

— producer * Joseph "Diamond D" Kirkland — producer * Gary Lubansky — engineer * MeLa Machinko — featured artist * Marco Polo — engineer, producer * William Paul "Large Professor" Mitchell — producer * Joe Nardone — mixing *

Nottz Dominick J. Lamb, (born February 21, 1977) better known by his stage name Nottz (or Nottz Raw), is an American hip hop record producer and rapper from Norfolk, Virginia. Nottz has produced for some of the biggest names in hip hop, including Bu ...

— engineer, mixing, producer, vocals * Peter "Pete Rock" Phillips — producer *

Rah Digga Rashia Tashan Fisher (born December 18, 1974), known professionally as Rah Digga, is an American rapper and actress. She is best known as a longtime member of the Flipmode Squad, a hip hop group led by Busta Rhymes. Her debut album, ''Dirty H ...

— vocals * Amber Ravenel — executive producer * Marion O. Ross III — trumpet * D. Sloan — engineer, mixing * Noah Abraham Weston — vocals

References

{{Authority control 2011 debut albums Hip hop albums by American artists Torae albums Albums produced by DJ Premier Albums produced by Pete Rock Albums produced by Marco Polo Albums produced by Illmind Albums produced by 9th Wonder Albums produced by Khrysis Albums produced by Nottz Albums produced by Large Professor Albums produced by Diamond D